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Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Movie Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Widescreen Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 87 minutes Studio: CENTRAL PARK MEDIA Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-11-13 Buy from Amazon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 97 Average rating: 4.5 "Revolutionary Girl Utena - The Movie" We believe whatever we want to believe. My opinion? This is perhaps one of the better anime out there. The plot is intriguing, the characters are wonderful and a good change from the television series version, and the imageries are luscious. On one level this movie is not hard to understand. At the same time however, it can be interpreted in many different ways. Perhaps this is echoing the wish of Ikuhara-sama but i do hope that people watch this movie with an open-mind and think outside what one has been taught and the rules we abide by. Changing mentality in a way, like a revolution but for the mind. All in all, this is a wonderful movie:) "Stunning, superior, and supernatural" The Revolutionary Girl Utena series has acquired fame as one of the strangest anime series ever made. Nearly everything in the show is metaphorical or an allusion to something else outside of the show (indeed, even outside of some people's thought processes!). The movie is no different. Don't be afraid if you don't understand a lot of the symbols--understanding comes with time and many repeat viewings (at least it did for me). You don't need to know a single thing about the Utena series to watch this movie. Oh, and for you parents and the few prudes out there, this movie does have some nudity, lesbianism, and (very, very slight) incest, so keep an eye out. But for those of you that are old enough and mature enough to handle a little skin or two girls being romantically involved with each other or a few hundred allegorical symbols, then you won't be disappointed in the Revolutionary Girl Utena movie. You will be pleasently surprised with a good portion of the show. The use of the pictures to form a bigger picture was nicely done, although they should have let us see the smaller pictures in their frames. The Shadow Girls also have a purpose, so don't dismiss them out of hand. By the way, I suggest watching this in it's original Japanese format with English subtitles. Unlike the series, which had great dubbing, the movie's dub should be taken out and burned. "Toki ni ai wa" I originally saw this movie right after finishing the 39 episode series without any expectations. I found that it was an alternate storyline, and although it is separate from the series--- it has a lot of little inside jokes and things that don't make much sense if you haven't watched the full series first. Getting down to it all... I have to be a little harsh with this movie-----aside from original character designs, the original author, Chiho Saito, didn't appear to have her hand in this one. The story line seems to revolve around Utena's relationship to Himemiya and how it changes over time. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a lot of progression---this being an 80 minute movie-----things seem to jump forward very quickly---leaving you kind of wondering "Why are they all the sudden so close?" In the movie---it seems as if Utena and Himemiya have only know each other for maybe a week or so---but they quickly jump into a relationship with each other that seems sacrificial and unrealistic. The whole thing just feels very rushed and poorly written. And now the car sequence..... the last 20 minutes or so... are very unusual. I really felt bored by it all------ the reason Utena is so attractive is because it's very much like a dramatic, yet beautiful, fairy-tale. They COMPLETELY change the feel on it though and set it to absurdity. Not amusing absurdity either, but just bland and ridiculous. I'm sorry, I am a HARDCORE fan of Utena, it's my favorite anime series and the manga is of the best I've read-------but the movie was not even slightly redeeming. The ONLY THING that I enjoyed was the music------- but if you really wanna hear the music just buy the OST. "Revolutionary Shojou Utena- A Masterpiece" I'm just getting hooked into Anime & this is the BEST film in my collection. I admit that I've never seen the series, but the movie blew me away. It full of so much symbolism, has great music, and captivating artwork. Ikuhara-san has created a movie of epic proportions. There's never a dull moment and the film keeps you thinking throughout. Many people argue that it's controversial, since it deals with drug-rape, lesbians, incest, and a number of other risque topics, but it's all completely symbolic and important to the storyline. It underscores any adolescent's feelings in someway,and is probably adquately rated @ about PG-13. It's really an awe-inspiring movie. "If you like straightforward plot, this is NOT for you." Utena the movie... well. First of all, the series and the movie have little to do with each other, excepting the characters, so seeing the series is not a prerequisite to watching the movie. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, to the actual review: The movie is largely incomprehensable (the car scene is especially...odd...) but that really doesn't detract from it that much- Utena is expected to be slightly surreal. The animation is beautiful, and if you get REALLY lost, you can always just look at the pictures. :) There ARE some dark elements in Utena, but they are mainly implied, and anybody that doesn't already have an idea of what is going on in those scenes isn't going to find out from watching this- it isn't going to corrupt anybody. All in all, this is the kind of movie you watch late at night with a bowl of popcorn and your friends beside you- a lovely mind-trip sort of anime that you don't have to worry about understanding- it's nigh near impossible anyway, so just sit back and enjoy the show! The beauty of the dance scene is reason enough to buy this title all by itself, and the rest of the movie is just as enjoyable. Even if it is difficult to understand.